


Until It Breaks

by just_plain_fanfics



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood and Gore, Canon Compliant, Hurt/Comfort, Kinda, LMAO, Light Angst, M/M, Someone gets hurt, Violence, everyone loves lance it's gonna be okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-15
Updated: 2017-05-15
Packaged: 2018-10-31 22:25:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10908675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/just_plain_fanfics/pseuds/just_plain_fanfics
Summary: Things go horribly wrong for Lance, Keith feels bad, and they make up in the best way.





	Until It Breaks

**Author's Note:**

> Here it is y'all. There is a bit of hunk/shay but it's only hinted at.

“Lance.” Keith barely breathes it, voice wavering. The dust is blinding, swirling around Keith and blocking out his senses. Coughing, he pulls up his bandanna so it covers his mouth and nose. Keith started forwards again, he needed to find Lance. If only they’d been wearing their armor. It frustrated Keith, knowing that he was out in the middle of no where on a foreign planet, with no clue as to where the blue paladin could be. He walks faster. Too fast, apparently, and he ends up tripping over something and it sends him sprawling over the ground. Keith gets up quickly, brushing himself off. A groan. There was no way that was a rock he tripped over, rocks don’t groan. Stumbling back to the place he fell, Keith strains his eyes as the dust settles. Faded camouflage green stands out against the monochromatic grey of the area.

“Lance!” Keith calls out, walking even quicker towards the fallen figure.

“Keith? S'that you?” Lance mutters, coughing after.

“Wait don’t move yet.” Pulling off his makeshift mask, Keith drops to his knees and puts it on Lance.

“Don’t think I could if I wanted to.” Keith quirks his eyebrows, confused.

“What are you-” Keith stops, horrified. “Oh god, Lance.” A boulder lays next to one side of Lance, and blood covers the area surrounding it. Clamping a hand over his mouth, Keith stalks forward to find the source. The boulder is crushing one of Lance’s arms. Keith can’t even see the arm up to just above the elbow, and he can only imagine the state of the parts under the boulder.

“O-oh shit. Lance, god, fuck.” Keith sits back on his haunches.

“He-helpful. Let me know if you’re gonna say something useful.” Lance says dryly.

“How are you still joking? Talking even? Jesus, I’m surprised you haven’t passed out!” Keith exclaims, shifting closer to where Lance’s head lay.

“I-I don’t know. S'kinda numb.” Keith feels his stomach turn. He knows what he needs to do. Problem is, he doesn’t want to do it.

“O-okay so. We need to do something about this.” He starts.

“Keith. I’m not that stupid.” Keith finds Lance’s hand and pulls it into his own.

“Yeah, I know. It needs to come off.” Lance trembles at Keith’s words. Keith looks down at the other boy, who lays on his back covered in scraps and bruises. Lance looks back up at Keith, giving him a halfhearted smile when their eyes meet. He squeezes Lance’s hand then lets it go. He instantly feels colder without it.

Keith pulls off his jacket and folds it into a neat square. He lifts Lance’s head up gently, slipping the jacket underneath as a cushion. Next he strips off his shirt, and pulls his knife out of his belt. He cuts the shirt down the seam, preparing it to act as a bandage. Sliding back from Lance a bit, he looks around. Luckily, there’s a lot of wood debris around. Picking up a few pieces he places them in a small circle. Rubbing his knife roughly against a stone, it takes a minute but sparks soon start to bounce off. A particularly large one lands on a skinny piece of bark, erupting into flames. Soon, a small fire is going. Keith sticks his knife into the fire, letting it heat up. If he’s going to do this, he’s going to do it right. Lance whimpers beside him and Keith cringes.

“I’m sorry.”

“What are you apologizing for? You didn’t do anything.” Keith thinks back to that morning where he and Lance had started off. He should have done something then, or made sure they wore their armor.

“I should have stayed with you, I should have checked the mountains stability, I should have made it more clear-”

“Keith! Stop, man. It’s not your fault, none of this is.” Lance reaches up with his uninjured hand and gently touches the side of Keith’s face. The feeling sends a chill down Keith’s spine. He sighs.

“Are you ready?” Keith asks uncertainly.

“No, but that doesn’t matter, does it?” Lance’s crooked grin makes Keith’s heart hurt.

“See you on the other side, if I make it.” Keith glares at Lance.

“You’re not going to die, Lance.” Keith says sternly.

“Blood loss is a thing, Keith.” Lance answers, mimicking Keith’s tone.

“How about this then; I won’t let you die.” Keith hears Lance gasp, then watches as a timid smile spreads across the tanned boy’s face. Pulling the knife from the fire, Keith holds it just above Lance’s arm.

“W-wait! Shouldn’t I have, like a gag or-” Keith presses his lips firmly against Lance’s and brings the knife down. He feels Lance’s body jerk, but he keeps going. The knife doesn’t go all the way through at first, stopping when it hits bone. Keith presses on, tears in his eyes. Flickering his eyes back up to Lance’s face, he pulls away from the kiss. Lance’s eyes are shut, and his body is limp. The pain must have rendered him unconscious. Keith feels the scrape of the metal knife against the ground and looks down at it. A wave of nausea hits him and he scrambles backwards to behind the boulder. He retches and his stomach heaves up everything he had eaten in the past day. Keith wipes his mouth on his arm, only to realize he isn’t wearing a top. Wiping his arm on his pants he crawls back to Lance.

Lance is still out, but his wound is bleeding heavily now, and blood is getting everywhere. Keith wastes no time wrapping up the stump that is now Lance’s arm. When he finishes that, he turns back to the groggy boy. Patting the side of Lance’s face softly, Keith marvels at how smooth it is despite all this.

“Hey, hey Lance! Wake up, please.” Keith whispers this, voice breaking on the last word.

“K-Keith?” Keith almost wept in relief.

“Lance! You okay?” Lance makes a noise that sounds rather like a snort.

“I just had my arm cut off, do you think I’m okay?” Keith rolls his eyes, but it’s all for show.

“Well you can talk, so I can assume you’re alright.” Lance grins at him, then winces. Keith immediately falters.

“Are you okay?” Keith’s voice is laced with worry.

“Relax man, I’m fine!” Keith sighs and loops his arm under Lance’s side. Lance doesn’t make a sound as he shifts his weight onto Keith.

“Lance. Just say if it hurts.” Keith hoists the both of them up. As soon as they’re standing up, Lance starts to fall backwards.

“Whoa there, Sharpshooter.” Keith snakes an arm around Lance’s waist to hold him up. After a few minutes, when Lance isn’t so shaky, they try to walk. Lance’s legs are uninjured, but Keith can tell that Lance is dizzy from blood loss. They have to hurry.

They don’t get too far before Lance slumps to the ground, barely conscious.

“Lance!” Keith shakes Lance lightly, even though he knows he shouldn’t.

“Sorry Keith.”

“Oh no, don’t you apologize, you asshole.” Keith says, biting his lip.

“Keith. Leave me here.” Lance’s tone is serious and unnerving.

“Like hell I’m gonna leave you here! I said I wasn’t gonna let you die!” Keith screams, tears leaking from his eyes. Grabbing Lance’s legs, Keith starts to pick Lance up.

“Keith, don’t. I’m not worth it, please. You can replace me, I’m not important. It’s more important that you get out of here-”

“You are so worth it! You’re our team’s Sharpshooter! You’re always there to look after us and keep up the mood! You are so important! No one could ever replace you, you fucking idiot! What would even give you that idea?! Don’t you know how much I- everyone cares?!” Keith takes a breath, ignoring how his cheeks have flared up with heat. “We’re getting you out of here.”

He looks down at Lance in his arms, and is surprised to find him crying. Tears slip out of the red paladin’s eyes before he can stop them, and he quickly blinks them away. If it weren’t so heartbreaking, Keith would have said Lance’s eyes look even prettier like this. The shine from the tears made his eyes even bluer, the same colour as the sky back at the desert near Keith’s shack.

“Let’s go.” Keith picks Lance the rest of the way up, and Lance squeaks.

“Sorry, did that hurt?”

“No, I-uh. Just surprised me, that’s all.” Lance has turned his head away, but Keith can still make up a faint blush on his cheeks. He chooses to ignore it. Carrying Lance bridal style, they move forward at an even faster pace than before. Keith is almost thankful they aren’t wearing their armor, without it Lance’s weight is much more manageable. It doesn’t take them too much longer to reach the pod they got there in.

 

When they got back to the castle they were immediately crowded by the rest of them team.

“GUYS! Lance is hurt! We need to get him in a healing pod!” Keith shouts, finally getting their attention.

“What happened?!” Hunk asks, panicked.

“I-I’m sorry.” Keith shifts to let the others see what’s become of Lance’s arm. There’s a collective gasp.

“Keith-” Shiro starts.

“Not his fault!” Lance mumbles, capturing everyone’s attention.

“Shut up lance, It is my fault. I’m really sorry. I should have done something to prevent it.” Keith can’t bring himself to meet anyone’s eyes.

“No! I went too far ahead! It’s my fault!” Lance shoots back.

“It doesn’t matter! We need to get Lance in a pod!” Shiro says, and Keith doesn’t delay any further.

When Lance is finally safely in a pod, Keith turns to Coran.

“The pod can’t regrow limbs, can it?”

“I’m afraid not, my boy. If you had the missing limb there would be a possibility, but even then it’s a very small chance.” Keith frowns at the floor, thinking back to Lance’s crushed arm still under the boulder.

“Don’t take this too harshly. You are not at fault.” When that doesn’t seem to help, Coran tries again. “You should rest, red paladin.” He knows he won’t, but he nods anyway, and Coran leaves the room.

Hunk comes in right as Coran leaves, and Keith can’t look at him.

“I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry, Hunk.” Keith says, fighting to push back the tears that threaten to spill.

“Keith, I won’t be mad, just tell me; what happened out there?”

“I- His arm was stuck. Under a boulder.” Keith barely whispers it, voice breaking. “I had to, Hunk, there was not other way. It should have been me.” Keith was roughly grabbed by the shoulders and held in front of Hunk. He forced himself to meet Hunk’s teary gaze.

“Don’t say that. I know I wish even I could give him an arm, but don’t say it should have been you. You did the right thing.” Keith can’t help the tears from falling and Hunk brings him into a hug. Normally, Keith would hate this, but right now he needs it. Choked sobs and sniffles fill the room. Pidge walks in and their tiny arms are instantly around the two boys. They too, on all other occasions wouldn’t participate in the hugging, but it’s different now.

Pidge and Hunk soon take their leave. They try to get Keith to go with them, but he hangs back. Sitting on the floor across from the pod, Keith gazes up at Lance’s unconscious form. His eyes are shut, and Keith once again notices how long his eye lashes are. The last time he noticed them was the bonding moment Lance had forgotten about. Keith felt his heart twinge at that, but soon turned his eyes back to Lance. Most chances to see Lance in a fitted suit Keith would gratefully accept, but now he just looked at lance and saw the place where his left arm should be. He knows he shouldn’t, but he blames himself. He could have stopped Lance from losing an arm. There probably was another way he could have done it. Then he remembers the kiss. Oh god, Lance probably hates him. Why did he do that? He already caused him enough pain, and then kissed him on top of that? Running a hand through his hair, Keith sighs.  
He stays there the night.

Actually, Keith stays there for the entire week. Almost. He would have if the others didn’t forcibly drag him away. They seemed to understand that he wanted to wait there, but that didn’t mean they were going to let him get away without eating. On the second evening, Hunk gave up on asking nicely and hoisted Keith over his shoulder, carrying him to the kitchen for some dinner. Keith went back to the pod right after that, but at least he had eaten. He didn’t sleep much either, his mind to busy with his thoughts. He stopped crying after the third night. Instead, he just sat and stared at the pod, willing it to open. Coran said it shouldn’t take too long, but by the end of the week Lance still wasn’t out. This just set Keith into another bout of worry.

He didn’t sleep at all. Passing out was the only time he slept, and they usually ended up with him waking up from a nightmare not long after. Upon further inspection, it turned out that Lance had a few broken ribs as well, and Keith only felt guiltier. He shouldn’t have made Lance walk. He should have been more gentle. He should have asked Lance if he had any other wounds.

Keith was almost to absorbed with self loathing to notice how it affected the others. Almost. He first notice how Hunk stayed holed up in the kitchen. When Shiro would kick him out of the med bay to eat, Hunk was always there. Hunk was quieter too, barely nodding a greeting to Keith before continuing with his cooking. He hadn’t seen Pidge around at all. Usually they’d be in the kitchen or where ever Hunk was, but they were nowhere to be found. Until Keith ran into them in the middle of the night. They looked awful, tired eyes and slouching. The two of them met with Hunk in the kitchen where they ate food goo in silence. It was hard to tell with Shiro, but he looked sadder. Whenever he came to the pod to check in, he had a look of remorse etched into his face. It was similar with Coran. It seemed that the older Altean man had taken to finding jobs around the ship to get his mind off of Lance. Keith aside, Coran visited Lance the most. Every time he came in Keith swore he saw new wrinkles engraved in his face. Allura got frustrated. She became more easy to provoke, and outbursts became common. She always apologized afterwards, but it never stopped her from doing it again. So, instead she busied herself in making battle plans. Shiro helped her too, it was a way for them both to distract themselves.

On the 26th day, the pod opened.

Keith is there, of course, as the telltale hissing announces the opening of the pod. Scrambling to his feet, Keith is just in time to catch Lance as he stumbles out of the pod.

“Whoa, careful there.” He tries to sound harsh, but there’s no bite in his voice, only relief. 

“Keith?” Lance stretches out his arms, only to realize one isn’t there. Keith doesn’t miss the horrified look that crosses over Lance’s face as his eyes flit over the stump. Noticing Keith’s worried look, Lance makes a joke.

“Hey, at least it wasn’t my right hand. That would have made a lot of things harder.” Lance quips, smirking and raising an eyebrow suggestively. If that isn’t an innuendo Keith doesn’t know what is.

“Was that a- yep, okay. You are definitely back to normal.” Keith says, ignoring the blush creeping up his neck.

“Also, sorry.” Keith doesn’t really know what he’s apologizing for. Everything?

“How many times do I need to tell you not to apologize?” Lance says, shaking his head.

Then Hunk bursts through the door, followed by the others. Moments later, both Keith and Lance have been engulfed in a huge hug. The rest of the team joins in, happy to see Lance.

“Lance! We were so worried!” Hunk exclaims, squeezing Lance even tighter.

“I missed ya too, big guy.”

“Yes, we were all quite distressed, a few of us in particular.” Coran eyes Keith, who scowls. Lance doesn’t seem to notice the interaction.

“I’m glad to be back!”

After hugging it out for a little bit longer, they all make their way to the kitchen.

“We need to get some food in you!” Hunk says, getting Lance a bowl of goo. After a few minutes of the others filling Lance in on anything he missed, which wasn’t much, Pidge pipes up.

“Hey, uh, I’ve been- I’ve designed a new arm for you, I’m working on it now. It’ll be super cool! Like Shiro’s!” Lance’s mouth falls open. Pidge recoils and starts to backtrack. “Not that you have to use it, if you don’t want, I just thought it might be easier and-” Lance wraps his arm around the smaller person, bringing them into a side hug.

“Sounds great. Thanks, Pidge. Now I can definitely look as cool as Shiro!” Everyone chuckles at that.

“Well guys, guess what?” Hunk asks, excitement showing on his face.

“What?!” Lance asks enthusiastically. Even Keith was intrigued to see what Hunk had made.

“Well,” Hunk says, scratching at his cheek bashfully, “I don’t know if it’s perfect yet. But, I made Flan! Or Space-Flan, I guess.” He barely finishes speaking before Lance has launched himself at Hunk.

“Oh my god, Hunk! Thank you! When can we try it?!” Hunk hugs Lance before letting him go again.

“It’s chilled and ready to go now, actually!”

“Really?!” Soon everyone is eating Hunk’s Special Space Flan, as Lance called it. It’s amazing, to say the least. Keith has never had anything like it. The flavour, the creamy texture of the inside, the whole thing was delicious.

“Hunk! This is amazing!” Lance all but shrieks, happily taking another slice.

“Hunk, can I ask you to marry me? This is too good.” Keith says. He can’t help it. Keith can feel Lance’s eyes on him as he takes another bite, smiling uncharacteristically.

“Ahaha, Thanks Keith, but there’s someone else…” Hunk trails off, blushing heavily.

“He can’t cheat on his rock-girlfriend!” Lance chimes in.

“She’s not my girlfriend!”

“Suuuure.” Pidge says, bumping Hunk’s arm with her own.Keith finds himself laughing along with the group, and all the built up tension leaves his body. He sways, caught off balance for a second. The others seem to notice.

“Hey Mullet, you okay?” Lance asks, eyebrows pinched in worry.

“Yeah, just a bit tired. I-I think I’m gonna head to bed now.” He lift a hand to his head, rubbing his temples.

“Oh, Alright. Goodnight!” He turns to leave, but then pauses.

“Lance you should retire too, you were in the pod for quite a while.” Coran tuts.

“Keith can walk you to your room, since you’re going the same way.” Shiro says, and it’s not a suggestion. He sends a knowing look Keith’s way. Keith wishes he had left sooner.

The two of them walk quietly through the halls, neither of them saying anything. They arrive at Keith’s door, and Lance clears his throat awkwardly.

“Uh, thanks.” Lance’s cheeks are tinted pink, and it’s a beautiful contrast to his beautiful brown skin.

“What are you thanking me for?” Keith asks, genuinely confused.

“Well, you did save my life?” He says it like a question.

“Yeah, while also taking your left arm.” Lance sighs.

“I’m glad you did, really. And I’m glad I was stuck with you there because you’re the only who’d hate me enough to be able to do it.” He chuckles a bit at that, and Keith’s heart clenches.

“I don’t hate you. I really didn’t want to do it. But I didn’t want you to die, either.” Keith turns away, barely glancing at Lance’s stunned expression. Opening the door to his room and stepping inside, Keith hears Lance call out one last sentence.

“I’m glad it was you, anyways. Thanks, Mullet.” Keith grins to himself, and lets the door slide shut. He leans against the closed door, sinking to the ground. Why can’t he stop smiling? Keith buries his red face in his hands and groans. That stupid idiot was so goddamn cute it hurt. Finally pushing himself to his feet, Keith sat down on the edge of his bed. Lance had acted normal, hadn’t he? Maybe he doesn’t remember the kiss. Maybe they can just forget about it and act like it never happened. A part of Keith aches with the idea, and he realizes he doesn’t want that. He wants more than that.

Keith doesn’t bother changing out of his clothes before bed.

The next morning, well, 4 a.m., Keith is in the observatory. Of course he couldn’t sleep. He had too many things to think about. Sighing, he closes his eyes and falls back until he lays on the floor. A throat clears. Keith’s eyes fly open, meeting Lance’s blue ones.

“Lance!”

“What brings you here?” Lance asks. Straight to the point.

“Couldn’t sleep.” Lance hums in agreement. The mood settles into something calmer, softer even, and there’s a comfortable tension. 

Suddenly Keith feels lips pressed against his own, and is startled to find Lance kissing him. He kisses back, pulling Lance closer. Something stirs in his chest, spreading warmth throughout his body. When they break apart, Lance smiles shyly.

“I- I hope that was okay.” 

“You remembered?” Keith asks, breathless. He doesn’t need to specify for Lance to guess what he’s talking about. Lance smiles. 

“How could I forget?”


End file.
